Weekly Address: A New College Scorecard

[cal04]

Source: White House

In this week's address, the President announced the launch of a new College Scorecard, meant to help students and parents identify which schools provide the biggest bang for your buck. Designed with input from those who will use it most, the Scorecard offers reliable data on factors important to prospective students, such as how much graduates earn, and how much debt they have when they graduate. In an economy where some higher education is still the surest ticket to the middle class, the choices that Americans make when searching for and selecting a college have never been more important. That’s why the President is committed to making sure there exists reliable information that helps students find the college that best fits their needs so that they can succeed.

Read more: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/weekly-address

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Still, in an economy that’s increasingly based on knowledge and innovation, some higher education is the surest ticket to the middle class. By the end of this decade, two in three job openings will require some higher education. That’s one reason why a degree from a two-year college will earn you $10,000 more each year than someone who only finished high school. One study showed that a degree from a four-year university earns you $1 million more over the course of a lifetime.

The country with the best-educated workforce in the world is going to win the 21st century economy. I want that to be America. But as college costs and student debt keep rising, the choices that Americans make when searching for and selecting a college have never been more important. That’s why everyone should be able to find clear, reliable, open data on college affordability and value – like whether they’re likely to graduate, find good jobs, and pay off their loans. Right now, however, many existing college rankings reward schools for spending more money and rejecting more students – at a time when America needs our colleges to focus on affordability and supporting all students who enroll. That doesn’t make sense, and it has to change.

So, today, my Administration is launching a new College Scorecard, designed with input from those who will use it the most – students, families, and counselors. Americans will now have access to reliable data on every institution of higher education. You’ll be able to see how much each school’s graduates earn, how much debt they graduate with, and what percentage of a school’s students can pay back their loans – which will help all of us see which schools do the best job of preparing America for success. And to reach more folks, we’re working with partners in the academic, non-profit, and private sectors that will help families use this new data to navigate the complicated college process and make informed decisions.

The status quo serves some colleges and the companies that rank them just fine. But it doesn't serve our students well – and that doesn't serve any of us well. There are colleges dedicated to helping students of all backgrounds learn without saddling them with debt. We should hold everybody to that standard. Our economic future depends on it.

This work is just beginning. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll continue to improve the Scorecard based on what we learn from students, parents, counselors, and colleges themselves. The goal is to help everybody who’s willing to work for a higher education search for and select a college that fits their goals. Together, we can make sure that every student has the chance to get a great education and achieve their full potential.

[Igel]

1. $.

That's what's important. $.

Debt and income.

Of course, this money-based "scorecard" already exists in several incarnations. But, sadly, they get buried in all the scorecards on knowledge production, student satisfaction, etc., etc., and people lose sight of the one true value. Money.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. K&R

And thanks for the weekly post!

This idea of a government "score card" will be interesting as many of us do know that some ranking lists out there tend to be biased as hell. I expect there to be major resistance by many of the institutions to this if they can't find a way to "game the system".

[enlightenment]

3. Looked at the "scorecard" this morning.

Here's the problem.

Incomplete data - some quite odd. For each institution, it gives full in-state tuition; reduced tuition for low-income students; saving for low-income students. That last figure is a pretty simple "a minus b = c" calculation - but for several institutions it was listed as "NA". Why?

It lists earnings after ten years - but it is a gross average, not a figure that gives a potential student the ability to gauge what their potential might be for their major. Even though you can SELECT a major, the data given is for the institution, not the students who completed a degree in that major.

It's not useless, but it really offers little more than "this is how much this school costs", which is easy enough to find out other ways.

There is no "system" to game here - you're correct. But that's because it's not a very useful tool.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. "which is easy enough to find out other ways"

The problem with the "other ways" is that they carefully leave out the fine print. And if directed towards young students (versus older students), despite the availability of the internet, the youngsters seem to believe that the internet is for "entertainment" and many of their parents are not proficient enough to dig for that info.

This is just the first year of such a program. It would not surprise me that in the future, for schools to potentially get federal funds, there would be info required to report that would be populated in this database. So I would give it some time (assuming something like this lasts beyond this current Presidency) before essentially declaring it unhelpful.

[enlightenment]

6. Do yourself a favor

and spend some time with this new scorecard before singing its praises.

There is no "fine print" - just general averages that are available in other aggregate databases (including but not limited to the US News and World Report annual listings). It honestly doesn't do anything more than those databases except give a broad average of the amount of debt the student body accrues.

It's not a terrible tool - and I'm not dissing the President's efforts - but it's not that great.

Maybe it will get better, but I doubt it. The only way to make it better would be collecting enough data to drill way down into the details and that would make it cumbersome, quickly out-of-date, and a bitch to maintain.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. How about doing yourself a favor

and let the thing play out and quit interpreting what I am trying to say and why. First iterations of something are just that and often lead to some meaningful ways to look for what should be added or removed. Wholesale knee-jerk pronouncements that something is a useless exercise is just silly, given the corporate alternatives are often meaningless and skewed to direct students to certain institutions.

And the "fine print" that I'm talking about is related to schools that don't elucidate the laundry list of "fees" that drain bank accounts quick, fast, and in a hurry, and perhaps getting a handle on that (as a data set) will be meaningful for students trying to decide whether to commute or stay on campus, etc.

[enlightenment]

8. Okay.

I won't comment on you moving the goalposts every reply in order to keep your true love of this not very useful (a term somewhat different than "useless&quot database unmolested.

Have a nice day.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. We will have to agree to disagree and leave it at that. eom

[turbinetree]

4. Lets also not forget.........................

that the trade "deals' that were implemented today and from the past placed a lot and I mean a lot of individuals in a situation that when they went back to school to place themselves in a better position to be retain able, many weren't.

And, they now are going into retirement with this debt, and if like myself now have a college debt (College Degree for Aviation), just like all other students from the past going forward, there should be a moratorium on this debt.

The president and Duncan can do this, and there is a petition to help everyone through no fault of there own and these insane "trade deals" to place a moratorium on this educational debt------------who is feeding off of whom.

They say get an education, so you do, but they ship jobs off, so the education becomes what------------

So, I am encouraging that this petition be signed---------------enough is enough --------------because one day you or your children could be in this boat----------------

Social Security will take this coming year $150.00 out of your check, because you have to pay it towards your Medicare, you cannot run from this if you are 65 or older-------like myself) this does not include state and federal taxes, because social security is considered earned income depending on where you live.

Then, too also, take this same money to pay a school debt, drives the limited income further down, some folks lost there retirement, through no fault of there own.

I am not asking for a hand-out, but really, lower the payments


http://www.signherenow.org/dont-garnish-social-security/cfaf/



Honk---------------for a political revolution Bernie 2016